Hello,

Any input appreciated... looking at a 1996 300D and wondered if that generation is worth considering ?

thank you

We like our E300D at 297000 miles.

Jeremy

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"Buster" in the '95

Our all-Diesel family
1996 E300D (W210) . .338,000 miles Wife's car
2005 E320 CDI . . 113,000 miles My car
Santa Rosa population 176,762 (2022)
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . 627,762
"Oh lord won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz."
-- Janis Joplin, October 1, 1970

Great car. Friend had a forward spring perch let go. It is a known problem with this body.

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Present
1987 300SDL
1991 300SL
1990 560SEL
2001 ML320

Past
1969 200D 1979-82
1983 300SD 1984-85
1972 250C 1982-02
1995 S350 2011
1997 S320 2012

I believe the 96 had some electrical gremlins mostly light sockets.

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92 e300d2.5t
01 e320
05 cdi
85 chev c10

any state with road salt, ( and any other state too, as a matter of course) MASSIVE serious inspection of the actual metal of the spring perches is very very wise.

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John HAUL AWAY, OR CRUSHED CARS!!! HELP ME keep the cars out of the crusher! A/C Thread
"as I ride with my a/c on... I have fond memories of sweaty oily saturdays and spewing R12 into the air. THANKS for all you do!

My drivers:
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5Turbo
1987 190D 2.5-5SPEED!!!

1987 300TD
1987 300TD
1994GMC 2500 6.5Turbo truck... I had to put the ladder somewhere!

Fine cars. the turbos , 98, 99, i like better because they don't have the crossover tube. A 1995 W124 with the 606 engine is awesome too. I'm working on my friends 1995 now. I drove it home yesterday. I love the smooth power curve of the 606 NA in a w124. But with the W210 you get a bigger car and better 5 spd tranny.

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What Would Rudolph Do?
1975 300D, 1975 240D, 1985 300SD, 1997 300D, 2005 E320 , 2006 Toyota Prius

If I'm not mistaken you still have the 722.4 tranny with the 96...nothing wrong with that, though. 722.6 came in 97.

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14 E250 Bluetec 4Matic "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 154k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 172k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver on Tan, 142k mi, wastegate conversion, ALDA delete

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

The 5-speed AT wasn't available until the '97 model year.

Sixto
MB-less

I'm just reading this by accident, and had the feeling that I needed to reply. I don't know about introducing myself at this forum, but at least I can tell you I am 23 years old and live in the Netherlands.

Now about the car, as far as I know, you need to be careful with (almost) all of the Mercedes types which building years are about 1996. Mercedes started to use paint on water basis, and it was not really the best paint..... These cars are quite famous if it's about bad bodywork and rust. If you found a good car, (almost) without with any rust, be careful with it and store it in a dry place and keep it clean. Otherwise, go for the W124 (building year between 1993 and 1996) or the type after, the W211. My father has a W124 of 1994, it's a 5 cylinders and it drives amazing. And the technique is how we know Mercedes, although electronics is not always the best part. I drive a W211 myself, and you feel the difference. It drives amazing too, of course, the 6 cylinders do they're job well. But it's a very different car (10 years of development of course!).

I hope this does help you with your choice!

So far more or less happy with my '96. I have a clean and southern car and corrosion is not an issue but I wouldn't buy one from a salt environment unless meticulously cared for or the spring perches rebuilt. I test drove a beater that was rusty and bottoming out from a hack dealer and no thanks.

That being said I wish I had spent 8 grand more and gotten a meticulously kept 2006 cdi though the 96 is more my budget.

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My Daily : 96 E-300 Diesel with 195,000 miles
Retired: 92 300D 2.5 T 345K miles and for sale
Retired: 95 E320 157K miles and currently parked with blown engine

Both retired cars are for sale as is my w124 shop inventory